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Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, Islamabad
A Sectoral Analysis of Poverty in Pakistan [with
Comments]Author(s): Muhammad Ali Bhatti, Rashida Haq, Tariq Javed
and Nasim Shah ShiraziSource: The Pakistan Development Review, Vol.
38, No. 4, Papers and Proceedings PART IIFifteenth Annual General
Meeting and Conference of the Pakistan Society of
DevelopmentEconomists Islamabad, November 5-8, 1999 (Winter 1999),
pp. 859-872Published by: Pakistan Institute of Development
Economics, IslamabadStable URL:
http://www.jstor.org/stable/41260210 .Accessed: 28/06/2014
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The Pakistan Development Review 38 : 4 Part II (Winter 1999) pp.
859-872
A Sectoral Analysis of Poverty in Pakistan Muhammad Ali Bhatti,
Rashida Haq, and Tariq Javed
1. INTRODUCTION Since independence, the problem of mass poverty
in Pakistan has been
substantial. The number of the destitute has continued to soar.
The problem of poverty now looks to be beyond control. The vast
masses of the people, particularly in rural areas, are indeed,
miserably below the poverty line. Moreover, the socio- economic and
demographic indicators are dismal. Official planning and the market
economy system have failed to lessen poverty. The policies
formulated to eradicate it have failed to achieve their
objectives.
The issue of poverty in Pakistan has its significance for
sustainable development. Long run development is not possible
without protecting the rights of the vulnerable groups and the
participation of the entire population in the development process.
Although Pakistan's economic growth has been quite respectable for
much of the last four decades but it has failed to trickle down to
the masses. The country has experienced poverty and stagnation in
1950s, increasing poverty and growth in the 1960s, stagnation of
growth but declining poverty in the 1970s, increasing growth and
declining poverty in the 1980s and finally, increasing poverty and
falling growth in the 1990s [MHCHD/UNDP (1999)].
The mainstream approach to identifying the poor specifies a
cut-off point 'poverty line', defining the level of
income/expenditure below which people are diagnosed as poor. The
conventional measure of poverty, head-count index, has been widely
used in Pakistan. However, in practice this absolute threshold
usually cannot stand the pressures of changing circumstances and is
not as absolute as the term would appear to imply [Zaidi and de Vos
(1993)]. To show the true face of poverty this study uses Foster,
Greer and Thorbecke (1984) class of additi vely decomposable
measure to estimate the variation in the incidence, intensity and
severity of poverty across sectors of employment. This study also
determines the relative contribution of the various sectors to
aggregate poverty. Location index is also used to measure the
concentration of poor in each sector. To evaluate the sources of
observed changes in sectoral poverty at the micro level 'HIES' data
sets are used. The present paper is based on the Basic Needs
Approach for the years 1987-88 and 1990-91.
The paper is organised in five sections. After the introduction,
the inquiry will proceed as follows: Section 2 will start by
providing trends of poverty in Pakistan.
Muhammad Ali Bhatti, Rashida Haq, and Tariq Javed are Assistant
Professor at Gordon College, Rawalpindi, Research Economist at
Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, Islamabad and
Assistant Professor at Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad,
respectively.
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860 Bhatti, Haq, and Javed
Section 3 will establish the methodology, Section 4 empirical
analysis and Section 5 will present some general conclusions.
2. TRENDS OF POVERTY IN PAKISTAN The history of research studies
on poverty and related issues in Pakistan is
based on the following approaches:
(i) The Arbitrary Poverty Line, (ii) The Minimum Calorie
Requirement Approach, (iii) The Basic Needs Approach, (iv) The
Subjective Approach, (v) The Relative Poverty Approach. The new
concept of Human Poverty Index (HPI) and Poverty of Opportunity
Index (POPI) have also been introduced in Pakistan. The
arbitrary poverty line is determined without attempting a
justification.
The earlier studies done by Naseem (1973) and Allaudin (1975),
arbitrarily fixed poverty lines in terms of per capita expenditure
and per capita income respectively. Both the studies estimated that
the incidence of poverty decreased significantly between 1963-64
and 1971-72. Mujahid (1978) criticised the work done by the above
two studies for ignoring the household size. He corrected the
methodological error and analysed that during 1963-70 poverty
levels increased in rural areas and declined in urban areas. Ahmad
et al (1989) defined four arbitrary poverty lines based on per
capita expenditure for the years, 1976-77,1979 and 1984-85. He
concluded that incidence of poverty and severity of poverty
declined during the analysis period.
Under the minimum calorie requirement approach, poverty is
defined in terms of a food poverty line which reflects the minimum
food expenditure needed to achieve the minimum required level of
caloric intake. Using this approach, Naseem (1977) found that
compared to 1963-64, poverty declined in 1969-70 and it increased
in 1971-72. Man and Amjad (1984) showed that rural poverty
increased from 32 percent in 1963-64 to 43 percent in 1969-70 and
declined to 29 percent in 1979. Cheema and Malik (1985) found a
decline in rural poverty accompanied by a marginal increase in
urban poverty both in terms of household and population during
1971-72 to 1979. Ercelawn (1990) estimated poverty at provincial
levels in 1984-85. He found that 20 percent and 10 percent of the
households were poor in the rural and urban areas of Pakistan
respectively. The highest incidence of poverty was found in rural
Balochistan followed by rural Punjab and rural Sindh. Havinga et al
(1990) showed that in 1984-85, about 40 percent households were
poor and the average income of the poor was 25 percent below the
poverty line. Malik (1996) estimated that poverty at the national
level and in rural and urban areas, declined between 1984-85 and
1987-88, it then marginally increased between 1987-88 and
1990-91.
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A Sectoral Analysis of Poverty 86 1
Shirazi (1993) estimated poverty lines both in terms of income
and expenditure based on nutritional needs. The FGT Poverty
measures have been applied to HIES micro data to determine the
incidence, intensity and severity of poverty in Pakistan. The
analysis is carried out both on household and individual level and
also on the regional level. The ratios of the very poor and the
extremely poor have been determined by defining the very poor who
can meet 80 percent of their requirement and extremely poor who can
meet barely 70 percent of their needs. A detailed socio- economic
profile has been developed. He has analysed the possible role of
INFAQ1 in the alleviation of poverty. He concluded that the poverty
gap can be reduced by 4.61 percent and severity of poverty by 6.6
percent in overall Pakistan under the impact of INFAQ.
The basic needs approach is defined as the cost of the minimum
bundle of basic needs consisting of food, clothing, housing,
medical, education and other needs. Using this approach, Malik
(1988) estimated poverty lines for rural and urban areas on the
basis of food and non-food expenditure for certain years of the
period from 1963-64 to 1984-85. His analysis showed that incidence
of poverty increased during the 1960s and then declined at the end
of 1970s and at the middle of 1980s. Ali (1995) used more
scientific technique of Extended Linear Expenditure System (ELES)
for estimating food poverty and total poverty in 1990-91. He
suggested that 47 percent population had an income less than the
estimated total poverty line, while the population below the food
poverty line was only 10 percent. The World Bank (1995) presented
the analysis of poverty trends in Pakistan from 1985 to 1990 and a
detailed strategy for poverty reduction. According to the report,
both the head-count ratio and the poverty gap ratio showed a
reduction from 1984-85 to 1990-91. Jafri and Khattak (1995)
computed four national poverty lines each for 1985-86, 1986-87,
1987-88 and 1990-91. The estimates of the head-count ratio, income
gap ratio and FGT measures indicate that incidence of poverty
decreased during 1986-87 and 1987-88 while the income gap ratio and
FGT index showed that poverty increased significantly during
1987-88 and 1990-91.
The subjective approach determines the poverty lines on the
bases of how people perceive poverty. Applying this approach, Ahmed
(1993) estimated poverty lines for rural and urban areas based on
an explicit listing of cost of meeting basic needs. The analysis
confirmed an unambiguous reduction in poverty between 1984- 85 and
1987-88, as well as a continuing trend till 1990-91. Gazdar et al
(1994) suggested various modifications to Ahmed's (1993) poverty
lines. This study confirmed a declining trend in poverty between
1984-85 and 1987-88 at all levels and a continuing, though much
less, decline, till 1990-91. The incidence of poverty was greater
in large households and a strong negative association was also
observed between poverty and asset holdings.
lINFAQ is defined to include all Zakat, Ushr, Sadaqat, gifts and
other assistance transfers to the poor.
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352 Bhatti, Haq, and Javed
The relative poverty approach is used to high-light the income
inequality. Using this approach, Akhtar (1988) calculated the
head-count index, poverty gap and Sen's index in terms of per
capita expenditure. She found concentration of the poor in Sindh
followed by Punjab. She found that the relatively poor population
was 35.5 percent at the national level, 35.2 percent and 36.1
percent at urban and rural levels respectively. Zaidi (1992) used
75 percent of national average equivalent expenditure and income as
cut-off points for the year 1984-85. He estimated that 38.7 percent
of the poor households were poor when poverty line was used in
terms of average equivalent expenditure, while in case of average
equivalent income, the proportion was 43 percent. At the provincial
level, poverty in Balochistan was more pronounced. Zaidi and de Vos
(1993) argued that starvation and hunger were no longer a common
phenomenon in Pakistan. They operationalised the concept of poverty
by using poverty lines which were defined as a certain percentage
of the national average. They also used expenditures to measure
household resources and the application of the adult equivalence
scale. They found that in 1987-88 the households whose heads had
less than primary education, rural households and households living
in Punjab were not only relatively often poor, but poverty in those
households was also more severe. Anwar (1997) estimated relative
poverty at three cut-off points of 50 percent, 66.6 percent and 75
percent of national average equivalent expenditure. He suggested
that 14.7 percent, 39.2 percent and 48.2 percent of all households
were poor in 1987-88.
Human Poverty Index (HPI) brings together in one composite index
deprivation in four basic dimensions of human life which includes a
long and healthy life, knowledge, economic provisions and social
inclusion. According to this index 47 percent population was poor
in 1995. Poverty of Opportunity Index (POPI) is a composite of
deprivations in three vital dimensions: health, education and
income. According to this approach 44
percent people were poor in 1995 [MHCHD/UNDP (1999)]. The
general pattern that emerges from a review of these earlier studies
is that
the magnitude of poverty is very sensitive to the choice of the
poverty line as regards the trends. It is also concluded that
incidence of poverty is higher in 1969-70 as compared to 1963-64.
During 1970s, poverty levels declined in all areas and that trend
continued till 1987-88. The year 1990-91 indicated a slight turning
around of this trend of declining poverty.
3. METHODOLOGY In Pakistan, like most of the other developing
countries, a significant section
of the population is still living below subsistence level. This
study therefore focuses on absolute deprivation instead of relative
deprivation. Poverty analysis involves three choices: choice of a
suitable welfare indicator, choice of a poverty line and choice of
a poverty measure. In this study total consumption expenditure is
used as a welfare indicator. For a suitable poverty line, Ali's
(1995) poverty lines based on basic needs are adopted which are
estimated by using Extended Linear Expenditure
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A Sectoral Analysis of Poverty 863
System (ELES). The cut-off points below which an individual is
considered to be poor are per month expenditure of Rs 270 for
1987-88 and Rs 374 for 1990-91. To control the value judgment in
the selection of poverty measure, Foster, Greer and Thorbecke
(1984) class of additi vely decomposable poverty measures are
chosen. The description is as follow:
If per capita monthly expenditures are arranged in an ascending
order,
Yl
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854 Bhatti, Haq, and Javed
measure, Ravallion and Huppi (1991) proposed the following
simple decomposition formula.
i=l (Intersectoral effects) /=1 (Pop. shift effects) /=1
(Interaction effects)
Where,
Pi, = The FGT poverty measure for sector V at time t. nit=
Population share of sector T at time V. = a given sector, where
there are '/n' such sectors G =1,2,3.. .m)- /=1987-88. i' =
1990-91.
Intrasectoral effects represent the effect of sectoral growth on
poverty, controlling for their base period population share.
Population shift effects tell about poverty changes due to changes
in population share of sectors between two periods. Interaction
effects show the possible correlation between sectoral gain,
population share and other factors, e.g changes in income
distribution. As poverty measures are estimated from sample
observations and usually involve a comparison among different time
periods, socio-economic groups and countries, it becomes necessary
to test the statistical significance of the observed
differences.
The following methodology proposed by Kakwani (1990) will be
used to test the statistical significance of the observed changes
in sectoral poverty:
P - P /
SE{PmU-P^
where,
Poca = FGT poverty measure for sector 'f in 1987-88, where w
ranges from 0 to 2. Poci^FGT poverty measure for sector V in
1990-91, where '' ranges from 0 to 2.
SE(Pocit-P~i)= Standard error of (Pocit - Poc t'),which is
calculated as: 5(Poci/_Poclr)= Vc^oc/n^ocr/n^ where, o ~/ = P(2c) -
P a v ou = Pou - / , s -P 'u vut = Pau - P lu
nit- Sample share of sector V in period /, where / is 1987-88
and is 1990-91. = is power used in FGT measure and takes the value
of 0, 1 and 2. V = is a given sector ranges from 0 to 9.
Data
This study is based on the micro data of Household Income and
Expenditure Survey (HIES) for 1987-88 and Household Integrated
Economic Survey (HIES) 1990-91. HIES data are quite comprehensive
and representative as they are based on
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A Sectoral Analysis of Poverty 865
an intensively probing questionnaire and a considerably large
sample size. Since the unit of account of HIES is a household, in
case of more than one earner in a household and belonging to
different industries, it is riot easy to determine the industry at
the household level. As 50 percent earners are the heads of the
households, we have taken the industry of the head of household as
a proxy for the industry of the household as a whole. In such cases
where the head of the household are not found economically active,
the industry of the next earning member is taken as a proxy for
industry of the household. Despite the above mentioned limitations,
'HIES' data sets are the best available source to analyse incidence
of poverty in Pakistan.
To analyse sector-wise poverty, the economy has been
disaggregated into the following nine traditional sectors:
(1) Agriculture, Hunting, Forestry and Fishing. (2) Mining and
Quarrying. (3) Manufacturing. (4) Electricity, Gas and Water. (5)
Construction. (6) Wholesale and Retail Trade and Restaurants and
Hotels. (7) Transport, Storage and Communication. (8) Financing,
Insurance, Real Estate and Business Services. (9) Community, Social
and Personal Services.
4. EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS Table 1 provides the information regarding
real per capita monthly income
and that of expenditure and the distribution of population
across different sectors of the economy. The table shows that
although overall monthly per capita income and expenditure
increased but they decreased in six out of nine sectors. The
highest per capita income and expenditure were registered among the
households whose heads were employed in finance, insurance and
business services while the construction sector was found on the
opposite end in both the reference periods. Sectoral distribution
of population showed that the agriculture sector has the largest
population share followed by trade and community and social
services sectors. Mining and quarrying sector has the lowest share
in population.
The results presented in Table 2 are based on Ali's (1995)
poverty lines who estimated per capita per month expenditure of Rs
270 for 1987-88 and Rs 374 for 1990-91 as a threshold levels.
According to these results, almost half of the population is living
below the poverty line in 1990-91. The highest incidence of poverty
is found in Construction sector. A population shift from
agriculture sector mitigates its influence on overall poverty. In
this sector, population shift effects and interaction
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866 Bhatti, Haq, and Javed
Table 1
Summary Data on Sectors of Employment Income (Rs)* Expenditure
(Rs)* Population (%)
Industry 1987-88 1990-91 1987-88 1990-91 1987-88 1990-91
Agriculture 328.17 452.64 317.34 353.67 41.65 36.31 Mining and
Quarrying 418.36 474.81 363.08 486.00 .14 0.41 Manufacturing 385.52
354.65 366.75 354.980 12.75 12.91 Electricity, Gas and Water 464.46
454.43 430.58 452.81 .77 1.22 Construction 306.83 285.56 297.99
295.14 8.55 8.60 Trade 401.92 382.19 383.51 367.57 15.12 15.56
Transport, Communication 394.58 362.41 375.42 343.78 6.62 6.82
Finance and Insurance 868.42 664.05 718.43 643.02 0.77 1.45
Community, Service 458.42 385.43 416.49 378.19 13.27 16.71 Overall
381.83 400.46 353.17 360.3 100.00 100.00
Source: Based on HIES data. * Per capita per month.
Table 2
Sectoral Structural of Poverty in Pakistan (Based on 1995)
Poverty Lines) Head-count Index Intrasectoral Population
Interaction
Industry 1987-88 1990-91 TTest Effects Shift Effect Effects
Agriculture 48.77 49.46 0.57 14.36 -129.56 -1.84 Mining and
Quarrying 36.93 52.90 1.32 1.10 4.99 2.16 Manufacturing 45.39 48.38
1.44 18.93 3.75 0.25 Electricity, Gas and
Water 31.81 35.01 .53 1.22 7.20 0.7214 Construction 59.26 61.49
.92 9.47 1.50 0.06 Trade 39.75 43.74 2.27 29.95 8.64 0.87
Transport,
Communication 44.96 50.07 1.90 16.8 4.55 0.52 Finance and
Insurance 7.75 16.15 2.00 3.24 2.60 2.82 Community, Service 40.24
44.48 2.50 28.00 68.72 7.24 Overall 46.02 48.03 2.75 100.00
effect helped in improving overall poverty situation hence the
net affect of agriculture on overall poverty decreased. The highest
change in head-count index in terms of percentage points has been
observed in Mining and quarrying sector but this change is not
statistically significant. The sector that suffered the most was
Finance and insurance where the head-count index increased by more
than 100 percent. The increasing trend of poverty incidence has
been found in all the nine sectors.
Table 3 shows the per capita poverty gap index Pit which
reflects how far the poor are from the poverty line. It shows an
overall increase in intensity of poverty, from 1 1.27 percent in
1987-88 tol3.10 percent in 1990-91. All the sectors also show an
increase in Pi, The values of Pi range from 0.75 percent to 18.30
percent among different sectors of employment. The Construction
sector, which had the highest proportion of poor, has also the
highest rank by intensity of poverty whereas Finance and insurance
has the lowest rank in poverty gap. Population shifts and
interaction effects again helped in reducing the share of
Agriculture sector in the increase of overall poverty gap.
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A Sectoral Analysis of Poverty 867
Table 3
Sector-wise Poverty Gap Index (Based on AH (1995) Poverty Lines)
Poverty Gap index Intrasectoral Population Interaction
Industry 1987-88 1990-91 TTest Effects Shift Effect Effects
Agriculture TTTl 13.55 15 41.87 -34.16 -5.37 Mining and
Quarrying 7.78 16.40 2.34 .65 1.15 1.28 Manufacturing 11.50 13.11
2.21 11.20 1.04 0.15 Electricity, Gas and
Water 6.37 9.64 1.65 1.37 1.59 0.81 Construction 16.68 18.30
1.68 7.68 .46 0.05 Trade 9.16 11.82 4.46 21.99 2.19 0.64 Transport,
10.89 13.37 2.64 8.95 1.21 0.28 Communication Finance and Insurance
.75 4.52 2.94 1.60 .28 1.39 Community, Service 9.70 11.47 3.16
12.77 18.22 3.31 Overall 11.27 13.10 7.20 100.46
Table 4 shows the results of distributionally sensitive poverty
measure, P2. It also revealed the same pattern of sectoral poverty
as was observed in Table 2 and 3 in 1987-88. Construction, Mining
and Agriculture sectors have the highest income inequality among
the poor in 1990-91. The results confirmed that Construction sector
suffered the worst poverty by all dimensions i.e. incidence (Po),
intensity (Pi) and severity (P2) in both reference years. The
Manufacturing sector is ranked second according to the severity of
poverty criterion while it is third in case of incidence and
intensity of poverty criterion.
All the three poverty measures show an increase in overall as
well as sector- wise poverty between 1987-88 and 1990-91. The
decomposition analysis of the observed that increased in poverty by
all the three poverty measures show that more than 40 percent
contribution was made by community and social service and trade
sectors. The greater share of intrasectoral effect of Agriculture
sector was offset by the strong population shift and interaction
effects in all the three sectors. However, the results show a
little variation in the ranking of these sectors by year as well as
by measure of poverty.
Table 5 contains information regarding the distribution of poor
across sectors. The highest concentration of poor is found in the
Agriculture sector followed by Trade, Manufacturing and
Construction sectors in 1987-88. In spite of the decline in the
population share of Agriculture sector in 1990-91, it remained at
the top. This table also presents the result of a location index
which is derived by dividing the share of poor in each sector by
the population share of that sector. A value of one hundred for
this index shows an equal share. The higher the value of this
indicator is from one hundred, the greater is the concentration of
the poor relative to the population. According to this index, the
highest concentration of the poor relative to the population share
is found in Construction, followed by Agriculture, Manufacturing
and Transportation.
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368 Bhatti, , and Javed
Table 4
Sector-wise FGT Index (Based on Ali (1995) Poverty Lines)
Distributionally
Sensitivit Index = P2 Intrasectoral Population Interaction
Industry 1987-88 1990-91 TTest Effects Shift Effect Effects
Agriculture 3.94 5.09 2.48 46.37 20.42 -5.95 Mining and Quarrying
1.97 6.66 3.01 46.37 0.52 1.24 Manufacturing 4.08 4.87 2.27 0.63
0.66 0.13 Electricity, Gas and
Water 1.82 3.96 2.25 9.75 0.81 .95 Construction 6.23 7.31 2.09
1.59 0.31 0.05 Trade 3.01 4.46 4.93 8.95 1.28 0.61 Transport,
Communication 3.86 4.98 2.44 21.16 0.76 0.22 Finance and
Insurance .18 1.75 2.70 7.18 0.12 1.03 Community, Service 3.37 4.05
2.63 1.18 11.24 2.27 Overall 3.88 4.91 8.25 8.77
Table 5
Sector-wise Distribution of Poor in Pakistan (Based on AH (1995)
Poverty Lines) Distribution of Poor " Location Index
Industry 1987-88 1990-91 "
1987-88 1990-91
Agriculture 44.30 37.40 113.01 103.00 Mining and Quarrying .10
0.50 76.92 121.95 Manufacturing 12.60 13.00 105.00 100.70
Electricity, Gas and Water .50 0.90 69.44 73.77 Construction 11.00
11.00 136.65 127.91 Trade 13.10 14.20 91.99 91.26 Transport,
Communication 6.50 7.10 104.33 104.11 Finance and Insurance .10
0.50 13.70 34.48 Community, Service 11.60 15.50 92.80 92.76
5. CONCLUSIONS This study attempts to examine the sectoral
trends and patterns of poverty in
Pakistan using HffiS data for the years 1987-88 and 1990-91. The
FGT( 1984) class of additively decomposable poverty measure have
been used to estimate the incidence, intensity and severity of
poverty. The empirical evidence indicates that poverty has
increased by all dimensions (incidence, intensity and severity) in
almost all sectors during the period under considerations. There
are also wide variations in the incidence of poverty among
different sectors. Construction, Agriculture and Manufacturing are
the badly affected sectors. The concentration index also indicates
that the proportion of the poor relative to the proportion of the
population is greater in these sectors. To check the reliability
and validity of poverty estimates obtained from sample data, one
should look at the behaviour of the macro variables. The results of
this study are supported by similar trends of macroeconomic
variables. The
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A Sectoral Analysis of Poverty 869
real per capita private consumption has been decreased during
the reference periods by 5.15 percent. Real wages of construction
workers decreased by more than 5 percent. Similarly, the share of
wages in GDP has been decreased from 32.3 percent in 1987-88 to 30
percent in 1990-91. Moreover, a decline in the growth momentum,
share of subsidies and public expenditure on basic social services
in GDP, increase in rate of unemployment, rate of inflation and
Gini coefficient are all in line with the evidence from the
household survey. The support by the macroeconomic variables
improves the reliability and validity of our result.
This study identifies the sectors, where the poor are
concentrated. It also contributes to increase the understanding of
the nature and extent of poverty in Pakistan. This study will be
helpful for effective and well-targeted designing of strategies to
reduced poverty.
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Comments
This is one of the few papers focussed on Sectoral Analysis of
Poverty. Concern for poverty has been expressed over the centuries
by historians, sociologists and economists. Its causes have been
identified in a variety of sources ranging from deficiencies in the
administration of income support to injustice of the social and
economic system. The eradication of poverty has been sought in the
reform of social security systems to changes in the form of
socioeconomic systems.
With reference to Pakistan, a number of studies have been made
on this important topic where the FGT poverty measures are used to
estimate relative contribution of various sectors of employment to
aggregate poverty. The conclusion of this research is that poverty
has risen in almost all the sectors of the economy during 1987-88
and 1990-91. Construction, agriculture and manufacturing are found
to be the most severely affected sectors. The results of the
present study are consistent with earlier studies and the general
trend of other macroeconomic variables.
I have some general observations on the paper which may be
considered in the revised paper.
1. Poverty is a multidimensional concept and its
conceptualisation is greatly influenced by the social and economic
environment. To capture the different aspects of poverty new
indices such as Human Poverty Index (HPI) and Poverty of
Opportunity Index (POPI) have recently been introduced in Pakistan.
The authors do mention these measures but have not used them in
their paper without giving any reason. They may accept or reject
these Indices on merit. They may add a few lines about them in
their revised paper.
2. The estimates of poverty in this paper are based on 1987-88
and 1990-91 HIES data sets. However, other studies [Jaffery (1991)]
used the most recent data of 1992-93, 1993-94 and 1995-96. We
expect the authors to extend their study by using the latest
available data.
3. In the second paragraph, on page 863 the authors have rightly
pointed out the limitation of the P{ poverty gap Index as it does
not reflect change in the degree of severity of poverty. But they
contradict it while explaining Table 3 by arguing that "the
construction sector, which had the highest proportion of poor, has
also the highest rank by intensity of poverty", knowing very well
that the intensity of poverty cannot be estimated by Px.
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08:27:43 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
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872 Nasim Shah Shirazi
4. The authors have reported estimates in various Tables.
However, they have not properly explained the results, particularly
the results of Table 4. The values of indices should also be
mentioned.
At the end I congratulate the authors for their efforts and
contributions.
Nasim Shah Shirazi International Islamic University,
Islamabad.
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Article Contentsp. [859]p. 860p. 861p. 862p. 863p. 864p. 865p.
866p. 867p. 868p. 869p. 870p. [871]p. 872
Issue Table of ContentsThe Pakistan Development Review, Vol. 38,
No. 4, Papers and Proceedings PART II Fifteenth Annual General
Meeting and Conference of the Pakistan Society of Development
Economists Islamabad, November 5-8, 1999 (Winter 1999), pp. i-iv,
575-1276Front MatterREGULATORY ISSUES IN TELECOMMUNICATIONSPrice
Regulation in Telecommunications Sector and Its Implications [with
Comments] [pp. 575-586]International Accounting Rate Reform in
Telecommunications [with Comments] [pp. 587-602]
SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTUREGrowth of Livestock Production in
Pakistan: An Analysis [with Comments] [pp. 605-614]An Assessment of
Livestock Production Potential in Pakistan: Implications for
Livestock Sector Policy [with Comments] [pp. 615-628]Participatory
Irrigation Management and its Financial Viability: A Case Study
[pp. 629-640]
DEMOGRAPHIC PERSPECTIVESDemographic, Socio-economic, and
Regional Fertility Differentials in Pakistan [pp. 643-660]Poor
Performance of Health and Population Welfare Programmes in Sindh:
Case Studies in Governance Failure [with Comments] [pp.
661-688]Socio-cultural Constraints and Women's Decision-making
Power Regarding Reproductive Behaviour [pp. 689-696]
SOCIAL DEVELOPMENTRural Poverty and Credit Use: Evidence from
Pakistan [pp. 699-716]Impediments to Social Development in Pakistan
[pp. 717-738]Pakistan's Ranking in Social Development: Have We
Always Been Backward? [with Comments] [pp. 739-754]
FISCAL AND MONETARY ISSUESThe Theory and Practice of
Agricultural Income Tax in Pakistan and a Viable Solution [with
Comments] [pp. 757-768]Monetary Expansion and Stock Returns in
Pakistan [with Comments] [pp. 769-776]The Response of Karachi Stock
Exchange to Nuclear Detonation [pp. 777-786]
INTERNATIONAL TRADEThe Impact of Tariff Reforms on Income
Distribution in Pakistan: A CGE-based Analysis [with Comments] [pp.
789-804]Conceptual Framework for Growth Triangles [with Comments]
[pp. 805-822]The Uruguay Round Agreement: Implications for
Pakistan's Textiles and Clothing Sector [pp. 823-833]
POVERTY AND ITS ALLEVIATIONDynamics of Growth, Poverty, and
Inequality in Pakistan [with Comments] [pp. 837-858]A Sectoral
Analysis of Poverty in Pakistan [with Comments] [pp.
859-872]Poverty in Pakistan: Increasing Incidence, Chronic Gender
Preponderance, and the Plausibility of Grameen-type Intermediation
[with Comments] [pp. 873-894]
GOVERNANCE AND INSTITUTIONSMultisectoral Initiatives, Sectoral
Inertia: A Dilemma of Governance for Development Policy-makers [pp.
897-904]Motivational Aspect of Good Governance [pp.
905-912]Capacity Building in Public Sector Organisations [with
Comments] [pp. 913-934]
HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENTDo Private Schools Produce More
Productive Workers? [with Comments] [pp. 937-954]State, Education,
and the Market [with Comments] [pp. 955-978]Poverty, Gender, and
Primary School Enrolment in Pakistan [with Comments] [pp.
979-992]
CIVIL SERVICE REFORMSPakistani Bureaucracy: Crisis of Governance
and Prospects of Reform [pp. 995-1017]
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGYSolving Organisational Problems with
Intranet Technology [pp. 1021-1036]Y2K Interruption: Can the
Doomsday Scenario Be Averted? [with Comments] [pp. 1037-1056]
MACRO MANAGEMENTThe Impact of Changes in Exchange Rate on
Prices: A Case Study of Pakistan [pp. 1059-1066]Fiscal Deficits and
Debt Dimensions of Pakistan [with Comments] [pp. 1067-1080]
INVESTMENT AND INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENTIndustrial Sector Input
Demand Responsiveness and Policy Interventions [with Comments] [pp.
1083-1100]The Time Profile of the Cost Structure in Pakistan's
Manufacturing Sector [with Comments] [pp. 1101-1116]Investment,
Hysteresis, and Layers of Techniques: A Case Study of Agricultural
Manufacturing Machinery in Multan Division [pp. 1117-1132]
AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENTRecent Evidence on Farm Size
and Land Productivity: Implications for Public Policy [with
Comments] [pp. 1135-1153]Rural Institutions and Planned Change in
Agriculture: A Comparative Perspective in Two Punjabs [with
Comments] [pp. 1155-1176]Rural Development in the 21st Century:
Some Issues [with Comments] [pp. 1177-1190]
DYNAMICS OF SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION'Urbanisation of Everybody',
Institutional Imperatives, and Social Transformation in Pakistan
[with Comments] [pp. 1193-1210]Social Democratic Reform Proposals
and the Future of Capitalism [with Comments] [pp.
1211-1232]Sustaining Economic Development by Reforming Basic
Institutions through Community Participation [pp. 1233-1246]
ABSTRACTS [pp. 1247-1259]PROGRAMME OF "THE 15TH ANNUAL GENERAL
MEETING AND CONFERENCE" OF The Pakistan Society of Development
Economists November 6-8, 1999 [pp. 1261, 1263-1276]Back Matter